Customer Reviews

Call from a Distant Shore

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this, Stephen Burns second novel, to be not as intellectually compelling as his most excellent "Flesh And Silver", but a most enjoyable and exciting adventure nonetheless.

A typical good guys vs the bad guys story, the good guys here are a group of six humans who are interrupted in their complex lives by a mentally deafening call for help that just can't be ignored. The bad guys are all the rest who don't hear the call and can't believe their stories of an alien presence in dire need.

I loved the characters and the characterization. Burns really brought them all to vivid and interesting life and compelled me to avidly follow their progress towards a noble and world changing goal.

This is only a mild social statement, not much science in the fiction, but it is a darn good read that started out a bit slow and then came to a screaming finish. A great feeling of aaaahhhhh at the end.

Try it, you'll really like it!

The idea was interesting, but the story moved much too slowly. And the foreign accents were annoying and stereotypical. The Spanish-speaking head of the United Nations, for example, constantly interspersed his conversation with references to tacos and enchiladas (oh, brother). His Russian-speaking security agent talked about, what else, vodka and Russian ballet. The author even used these ridiculous cultural references when talking ABOUT the characters. For example, he said the UN chief was about to burst "like a pinata". In my opionion, this is a cheap way to avoid creating real, 3-dimensional characters.

A great follow on to his first book. A wonderfully down-to-earth (read bawdy) tale in the style of Asmivov. A good sense of Twilight-zone justice and characters that you give a damn about with a healty dose of lust and science-fact. I read it in a weekend and wished it went on forever....

This novel starts a bit slow as the author takes great care to introduce us to all the characters. Becoming friends with all concerned makes the plot in the second half that much better.

While the book is complete, I was left hoping that there would be a sequel to follow up on a number of topics. It almost seemed like the author suddenly decided the book had to stop which is at odds with the slow build up at the beginning.

I will read more by Stephen Burns and recommend the book as a good read. I can't say exactly why but I lost a night's sleep as I could not put the book down.

I have read about a million books. This is one of the most enjoyable I have read thus far. I bought Mr. Burns's first book basically because it had decent reviews and a neat cover. I was surprised to find that it really was a good book. Good enough to buy this other book from him. Well, this book is leaps and bounds better than "flesh and silver". The character development is amazing. The plotline is compelling. He provides just enough detail that you actually feel as if you are living the story along with the characters. But not too much detail as to be excessive (Anne Rice). One part even made me bust out laughing. That hardly ever happens with me. I had to explain to a friend what was going on in the book so that he didn't think I lost my marbles.
The author's views of how our future may very well turn out is exciting, and fun. The way in which the book is written is very down-to-earth...and not technical or too far out. I can see this becoming a movie one day. I sure hope so. But a movie wouldn't do it justice (they hardly ever do)....but while I was reading the book I could actually see what movie stars could be filling the roles in the book. The hacker in the book could be the black guy in "the green mile"...and so on...

You have to read this one. Trust me.

It has been many years since I have read such a wonderful amalgam of humor, action, and science fiction. The characters are a pleasure to interact with, and the plot is a non-stop rocket sled ride.... full of powerful emotion, wry humor, and cyber-opera goodness.

Pretty good story - and a neat premise for a tale of first contact. A two individual team from a benevolent alien race, protecting earth from the natural vagaries of an indifferent universe, experiences an unexpected calamity and must reveal its existence and ask earthlings for help or perish. By fortuitous coincidence, earth's first Mars mission happens to be in the neighborhood and might be diverted to the rescue - if the few who have received the telepathic cry for help can convince a skeptical world to do so.

Perhaps there is a sequel in the future. The story ends fairly abruptly. It would have been fun to read far more about the alien, its origin, its culture, its technology, the scope of it's knowledge, etc. In short, more about this "distant shore". Additional narrative describing the specifics as to how earthlings could provide aid to such an advanced species, as well as how the global psyche was affected by this momentous landmark in human history, would have been welcome.

Unfortunately a lot the story is written in the scatological style indicative of the salacious thought patterns of teenage boys. I'm aware that much real life verbal intercourse is similarly crass, but in the written word, it to me is usually a bit unsettling, annoying - and unnecessary. I found myself frequently skipping through the text (something I rarely do), some of which seemed like mere filler, with little loss of the story line.

Ordinary people, each with their own lives, dreams, troubles, and demons, are forced to go beyond their own boundaries and form an alliance--having heard an incredible distress call like none any of them had ever dreamed or imagined they would receive. Each risking themselves--to the media's fickle perceptions, to danger and prejudice, and even to potential loss--they forge a deep bond of necessity at first, then affection that brazens out any and all comers.
There is only one goal--to rescue a lonely, powerful, beautiful who needs their help, stranded on a moon of Mars.

How they deal with each obstacle, how they bond and show the very best that humankind can be in the face of each challenge, is well worth reading, especially now in these times, where challenges seem to jump at us from every corner. Read this story, enjoy the subtle--and not-so-subtle--puns and jokes the author dishes up, and fly with the ARES spacecraft toward a very special destiny.
This book is one of my favorites: I read it often, and I never tire of its story, ultimately one of hope and courage.

After reading the first chapter I thought this was going to be a standard, serious adventure novel after a few more chapters I was laughing out loud. The world Burns creates is extremely interesting and funny in a 'Snow Crash' sort of way. All the characters are very bizarre and you just want to know more about them. You put together Jamal, a black, over weight, omnipotent agoraphobic computer whiz; his girlfriend Amber, an Asian tabooed nymphomaniac; Dan, the 'Virtual Weatherman' with a celebrity ex-wife from Hell and a butch lesbian, biker, producer; Martina, a Russian, amazon, one-woman-army, bodyguard guarding her boyfriend the head of the United Nations; Davsheed, a gay Pakistani-American `Media Artist' working for the UN and his Native-American UN security guard boyfriend; Jane the pilot/commander of a mission to Mars with a egotistical, back-stabbing second-in-command; Ray Sunshine a charismatic televangelist; throw in some nationalistic, multi-phobic white supremacists and you get one hell of a story. If great characters isn't enough, put in a fun story where many of these characters try to get together to save an alien living on a Martian moon and you can't miss. Finally give the story a feel good message about love makes this even more enjoyable. For a funny, feel-good story with fantastic characters you must read this book.

I found the characters to be both superficial and extremely unreliable. The dialogs are very disappointing, often shallow and unsophisticated. Unfortunately -so is the plot.